An ed-tech startup has launched a platform, Kidovators, to promote creative and critical skills in school-aged children from class IV to class IX, with Gray Matters Capital as an investor. The learning-focused platform by Add-On-Gyan Educational Services Pvt. Ltd., challenges students to apply creative and critical thinking with challenges and provides course material for learning and education. The service also provides a means of reaching students and understanding their insights and ideas from a consumer perspective.

“65 per cent students entering school today will grow up to do work that does not even exist today,” Priyadeep Sinha, Founder and CEO, Add-On-Gyan Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. said as reported by BW Disrupt. “Various research reports highlight that skills such as creativity, critical thinking and adaptability are going to be key to the success of the future human capital. This means that the education system needs to morph itself to be one that can orient the students to this mode of thinking. We believe that the Kidovators Platform is one such spark that our education needs to ignite the minds of our future.”

Atlanta-based Gray Matters Capital is an impact investment company that focuses its investments towards the education and employment sectors, looking to increase access of both in India.

“Backing affordable breakthrough solutions of for-profit education ventures focused on inculcating 21st-century skills and improving the learning outcomes of the students is in line with our investment strategy in India”, Ragini Bajaj Chaudhary, India CEO of Gray Matters Capital said.

The platform launched by the Bengaluru-based startup is the first of its kind and covers a number of subjects aimed at school-aged children, including STEAM (Science, Technology, English, Arts and Mathematics), Logical Thinking and Entrepreneurship. In addition to the courses and challenges which are meant to be game-like and encourage critical and creative thinking and problem-solving.

“Kidovators is levelling the playing field by ensuring that kids from affordable private schools (APS) are provided with the exact same quality of learning on the platform as students from marquee schools of India,” Sinha said.

Gray Matters Capital helped launch the platform through its edLABS initiative, one that funds entrepreneurship with a focus on the education sector, solving issues in the field throughout India. The funding limit of the initiative is $150,000.

“Be it education startups who have an innovative idea and need early stage funding to pilot their product prototype or an established education enterprise looking for business line innovation, edLABS creates a nurturing environment for them to downscale into the affordable private education space,” Smita Sircar, Innovation Director edLABS and ecosystem at Gray Matters Capital said. “We are on the constant look out for entrepreneurs like Priyadeep who are mission driven to solve the toughest problems in education with their innovations applicable to not just India, but globally too.”

Add-On-Gyan Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. has also held the ‘Kidovators Creativity Olympiad: The Erehowan Challenge’.

(Picture courtesy: https://kidovators.com/)